World · Malaysia Bureau
One million Afghan children face life-threatening malnutrition crisis
A United Nations agency has warned that approximately one million children in Afghanistan are suffering from severe malnutrition that threatens their lives. The broader crisis affects 3.7 million children across the country who are acutely malnourished.
LSN Malaysia ·
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has raised alarm over the deteriorating nutritional crisis affecting Afghan children, with a significant portion facing acute wasting—a condition indicating severe acute malnutrition.
According to UNICEF's assessment, approximately 3.7 million children throughout Afghanistan are suffering from wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition that weakens their immune systems and leaves them vulnerable to disease and death. Of these, around one million children face the most critical risk to their survival.
The scale of the crisis underscores the deepening humanitarian challenges in Afghanistan, where ongoing instability and economic collapse have severely limited access to adequate food and healthcare services. Children suffering from acute malnutrition face heightened mortality risks, particularly when combined with inadequate medical care and sanitation conditions.
UNICEF's findings highlight the urgent need for humanitarian intervention to address food insecurity and provide emergency nutritional support to Afghanistan's most vulnerable populations. The agency has called for increased international assistance to prevent further deterioration of child health outcomes in the country.